2021
Series of Ceremonies Across Europe
ABOUT
The Innovation in Politics Awards 2021
The Innovation in Politics Awards 2021 were presented in a series of nine ceremonies hosted in cities throughout Europe between December 2021 and February 2022. Now in their fifth year, the awards honour the most courageous and creative political projects throughout Europe.
A jury of over 1,000 European citizens selected 90 finalists and 9 winners from the categories Community, COVID-19, Democracy, Digitisation, Ecology, Economy, Education, Human Rights and Quality of Life. In the second year of the pandemic, the nominees and winners once more demonstrated how bold new solutions can transform our communities for the better.
DISCOVER THE WINNERS
COMMUNITY
Neighbourhood Bern, Switzerland
Volunteers are individually connected with people living within a 15-minute walking distance who need support with everyday tasks, strengthening local solidarity and neighbourly relationships.
COVID-19
Brake the Curve, Spain
The Government of Aragon enabled the creation of a platform that channelled the spontaneous civic initiatives that arose as a response to the humanitarian crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic
DEMOCRACY
SHE – See Her Elected, Ireland
This community-led initiative supports women into politics in rural areas of Ireland, strengthening local and national democracy by increasing the diversity of political participation.
DIGITISATION
+Ricicli +Viaggi – the more you recycle the more you travel, Italy
A novel approach to recycling sees plastic bottles exchanged for discounts on public transport tickets in Italy.
ECOLOGY
Rijnvliet Edible Neighbourhood, Netherlands
Participatory co-design creates a residential neighbourhood around accessible urban agriculture, enhancing the quality of life for inhabitants and the rich biodiversity for all living things
ECONOMY
Summer of Pioneers, Wittenberge, Germany
A small but well-connected town attracts young remote workers to the area by offering them a year in discounted accommodation and access to a co-working space.
EDUCATION
Launching KOOD/JÕHVI – A new kind of coding school!, Estonia
This new coding school gives young people in Estonia’s northeast an opportunity to learn skills that are in high demand, opening the way to new career paths.
HUMAN RIGHTS
Social Laundrette in the Municipality of Chania, Greece
The first social laundrette in Crete provides socially vulnerable citizens with the facilities to wash their clothes and take care of their personal hygiene, as well as a sense of self-worth and belonging.
QUALITY OF LIFE
Project Arraigo, Spain
A social enterprise facilitates the transition from urban to rural living by working with rural communities to help them integrate new arrivals.
DISCOVER THE FINALISTS
COMMUNITY
- Flat-Exchange Coordination Office, Germany
- Home-Made Bristol, United Kingdom
- Neighbourhood Bern, Switzerland
- PLATZprojekt – the place for good ideas and projects, Germany
- Social Institution of Culture, Poland
COVID-19
- #GDAŃSKPOMAGA (#GDANSKHELPS), Poland
- Brake the Curve, Spain
- COVID-19 Citizens’ Advisory Council of the City of Augsburg, Germany
- Everybody Gargles! Free PCR-testing for everyone in Vienna, Austria
- Gdynia for Medics, Poland
- Gdynia’s Programme to Support Students, Teachers and Parents During the Pandemic, Poland
- I Will Help You Learn, Lithuania
- Innovative protective film to prevent coronavirus transmission, Poland
- The Pentagon 20 km/h Traffic Zone – Ville 20, Belgium
- United We Stream, Germany
DEMOCRACY
- Bristol’s First Citizens’ Assembly, United Kingdom
- Consultations for the Łodź 2030+ Strategy – Co-Created City, Poland
- Decidim, Spain
- Eberswalde Citizens’ Budget, Germany
- Electoral District Citizen Assemblies, Germany
- LAAAB – Aragón’s Open Governance Laboratory, Spain
- New Life of the Square, Poland
- SHE – See Her Elected, Ireland
- Wales’s Well-being of Future Generations Act, United Kingdom
- We are the City – Urban Lab Rzeszów, Poland
DIGITISATION
- +Ricicli +Viaggi – the more you recycle the more you travel, Italy
- City of the Future 2030: Co-Create Sustainability through Digitalisation – IoT for Everybody, Germany
- CITY ON, Greece
- ELECTRONIC PARKING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR THE DISABLED, Greece
- MICADO: Migrant Integration Cockpits and Dashboards, Spain
- MoBio – Mobile Biography for New Immigrants, Germany
- MOJAWARSZAWA (MYWARSAW), Poland
- Revolutionising Waste Collection, Czech Republic
- VisualGob, Spain
- Vote Rookie, Germany
ECOLOGY
- Binit Better: streamlining waste services, United Kingdom
- Citizens’ Convention on Climate, France
- Followgreen: reward platform for recycling, Greece
- HEAT – Hamburg Electric Autonomous Transportation, Germany
- Klimakommune Saerbeck: a city on its way to a sustainable future, Germany
- RESILIO – Resilience Network of Smart, Innovative Climate-Adaptive Rooftops, Netherlands
- Rijnvliet Edible Neighbourhood, Netherlands
- The CANN Project – Collaborative Action for the Natura Network, United Kingdom
- The Shop Without Money, France
- Vienna Repair Voucher, Austria
ECONOMY
- Age Friendly Business Recognition Programme, Ireland
- Apprenticeship in Vorarlberg, Austria
- AVAILABLE – Hub of Opportunities, Bulgaria
- Establishing Rural Working Hubs, Ireland
- HYBRIT: Fossil-Free Steel Plant, Sweden
- KAPS – Flatshare Solidarity Project, France
- MYMARKET.BRUSSELS, Belgium
- NEXT MANNHEIM, Germany
- Summer of Pioneers, Wittenberge, Germany
- Towarower (Freightliner), Poland
EDUCATION
- Launching KOOD/JÕHVI – A new kind of coding school!, Estonia
- LE TELE DI ARACNE, Sewing Academy, Italy
- Learning in the Garden, Austria
- SIAULIAI GROWS: An Online Learning Assistance Platform, Lithuania
- Solaride, Estonia
- STEMintheCity, Italy
- TeachMillions, Estonia
- Teenagers in Local Government, Poland
- The Citizens’ University of Larissa, Greece
- Volunteer Parent-Mediators, Germany
HUMAN RIGHTS
- #KeinPlatzfürHate (#NoPlaceforHate), Austria
- Combined Playground for Children, Bulgaria
- Connected Newsstands, Italy
- Educational and Social Inclusion of Migrant and Refugee Children in Primary Schools, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Educational Programme for the Prevention of Violence Against Children, Bulgaria
- Netzwärk – supporting professional perspectives for refugees and migrants, Switzerland
- Rainbow Crossings, Sweden
- Repatriation Programme, Środa Wielkopolska, Poland
- Social Laundrette in the Municipality of Chania, Greece
- Violence Algorithm, Lithuania
QUALITY OF LIFE
- DB Rad+ App – Rewards for Cycling, Germany
- Pink Box – Let’s End Period Poverty and Act for Equality, Poland
- Project Arraigo, Spain
- Rain Gothenburg – The World’s Best Rainy City, Sweden
- Smart Lighting along the River Fulda Cycle Paths, Germany
- Street Moves, Sweden
- The Mosquito Hunters, Slovakia
- The Social Supermarket, Poland
- The Wild Child’s Sanctuary, Poland
- Vacant Homes, Ireland